Juvenile Justice System guide is a comic book posted on the ABA Journal website.
I Got Arrested! Now What? is a four-page instructional pamphlet that now is distributed to anyone under the age of 16 who is arrested on delinquency charges in New York City. It takes young readers on an easy to follow journey from booking to sentencing by breaking down complicated legal concepts into language they can understand.
For example:
“File a Petition: This is what it’s called when the Law Department decides to bring a case to Family Court.”
“Remand: When the judge decides to send you to a detention facility during your case.”
“Parole: When the judge sends you home during your case instead of putting you in detention.”
Information in the comic book was compiled through interviews with lawyers, probation officers and judges, as well as parents and kids who have experienced the juvenile court process.
“From my perspective the comic book embodies one of our core beliefs that knowledge is power,” says Greg Berman, director of the Center for Court Innovation.
The comic book was so well-received that Berman plans to add a second year to the Youth Justice Board program. The new “action year” will allow participants to go from idea to actuality.
“You cannot imagine the sense of pride and accomplishment when they saw the results,” Berman says. “To devote all this time and energy and deliver a product out of nothing—there’s nothing more powerful than that. In some small way I think this is a contribution to making government more transparent and to increasing public faith in justice.”
Link: http://www.abajournal.com/files/12OJUVY_ComicBook-5pg.pdf